One of two horses prepared for today's Grand National by Pembrokeshire trainer Rebecca Curtis has been withdrawn from the field.
O'Faolains Boy will no longer contest the highly-anticipated steeplechase at Aintree this afternoon, reducing the field to 39 horses.
Trainer Miss Curtis, 36, had prepared the nine-year-old for the race at her successful stables, Rebecca Curtis Racing, at Fforest Farm near Newport, Pembrokeshire.
Speaking about 33-1 shot O’Faolains Boy earlier this week , Miss Curtis said: “He’s now a nine-year-old but I’m sure he’s as good as he’s ever been.
"We’ve always thought he’d be a National horse. Everyone who’s ever ridden him has said that.
"He a real stayer, jumps really well. He handles all types of ground but perhaps some rain is a help.”
Miss Curtis has another runner in the National, though, with 40-1 contender The Romford Pele, named by jockey AP McCoy after his friend the Romford-born former Arsenal player Ray Parlour.
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She said of the big race: “The National is one of those races where you need luck but you have to stay in it to have a chance of winning."
Miss Curtis came close to winning the National in 2013 when she trained Teaforthree which finished the race third.
Last year the Curtis-trained horse Bob Ford took on the Grand National challenge for the Pembrokeshire stables but was pulled up at the 29th fence.
She said: “The National is a very exciting and unique race. It’s a real buzz to watch, but we just want them to come back safe.”
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A third Welsh-stabled contender, Buywise, based at the highly-rated Evan Williams Racing stables in Llancarfan in the Vale of Glamorgan, is also bidding to become the first Welsh-trained horse to win the Grand National since Kirkland back in 1905 which was trained in Lawrenny, Pembrokeshire.